Chance Encounter
by Trunks lil' sis
Summary: Jack and Will met many years before their grand adventure by a chance encounter. This is the story of such an encounter and the account of how BootStrap Bill came to be on the Black Pearl, and Will with his mother.


Chance Encounter  
By: Trunks lil sis  
Summary: Jack and Will met many years before their grand adventure by a chance encounter. This is the story of such an encounter and the account of how BootStrap Bill came to be on the Black Pearl, and Will with his mother.  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: Flangst A bit of Fluff and a bit of Angst   
  
  
  
  
It was initially the sound of workingmen that had drawn Will Turner away from his father's side. The sun was high near the noon hour and the breeze off the ocean ruffled his short brown tresses. The ship swayed softly and slightly under his small feet, a feeling he was accustom to.  
  
The small boy of four years managed to slip past his distracted father and the working crew easily. His feet carried him unevenly off the ship and down to the deck the ship had been docked at. The child frowned at the odd sensation of a stationary surface but quickly adjusted. His sparkling brown eyes rose off his feet to the busy port of Tortuga.  
  
His feet clicked softly on the wood planks of the dock as he made his way away from his ship and father. He avoided the drunken pirates sleeping on the ground and those stumbling around him, extremely tall in his own eyes. His hands grasped the front of his brown vest, eyes wide at the loud women and men engaged in brawls.   
  
His head turned to watch a man pull a pistol from his waist sash and lost his footing on the dirty ground. He collapsed to his knees, hands holding him from messing the top of his outfit. He felt tears prick the edges of his eyes before he reminded himself he was pirate, and pirates did not cry. He managed to climb to his feet when the back of his vest was clutched and he was raised off his feet.  
  
"Who do we have here?" Will's eyes widened, as he was raised eye level with a woman, breasts spilling out of a tight dress. She clicked her tongue inside of her mouth and rested Will on her left hip. "How did a child get here?" She asked the scarcely clad woman next to her. "What's your name, darling?" She asked Will, ignoring the child's wiggling.  
  
"William Turner!" He exclaimed proudly, stating his full name perfectly. "Who're you?" He asked, his voice as confused as his eyes. He did not wait for his answer as he turned his head to look for his father. Will had at this point decided he had experienced enough of the town on his own and wished to return to his father. "Down!" He ordered.  
  
The whore holding him flicked her red hair over her shoulder and shook her head. "Sorry Sweetie, can't let you go running around on your own." The blonde next to her agreed and fingered the fine material on Will's vest.   
  
"How'd a kid with this get here?" She asked, catching the eye of a swaggering pirate a few feet away. "You're not gonna keep him, are ya?" She bit the edge of her hair. "We ain't got room for kids."  
  
The red haired woman shook her head, attempting to contain Will who was fighting to get down and beginning to scream at her. "William Turner be his name, the child of BootStrap Bill. He'd put up a nice trade."  
  
Will scrunched up his face, hastily getting rid of the few tears that had managed to leak out. He pulled back his free foot as far as possible. With a quick yell he kicked the whore in the knee, causing her to drop him.   
  
Will lay in a daze on the ground, his small body having made contact harder then he expected. But he recovered quickly and was climbing to his feet by the time the whore gained her sense. They met eyes just once before Will urged his feet take him away and he was off down the street fast as he could go.  
  
"After him!" The red haired woman ordered. "He's worth his weight in gold!" She hitched up her dress and chased after him, intending to return him with an extra bruise or two.  
  
Will's heart felt as if it was ready to burst as he continued down the street. He didn't dare glance behind him, yet he knew he was being gained on. He would be caught soon and might never see his beloved ship or father again.  
  
For the second time that day young Will fell to his knees as he collided with a pirate just stepping out of a tavern. This time Will did nothing to stop the tears as he was again lifted from the ground. He did note however, that these new arms felt secure and safe, much different from the arms of earlier.  
  
"Who're you?" The black haired pirate asked, words just slightly slurred together. He pressed the shaking child into his side as two whores came to his side, both huffing as if they had been running of a long period of time.  
  
"You have caught my child!" The red haired woman shrieked, reaching for Will. Will let out a scream and coiled farther into the pirate's side.   
  
The pirate raised an eyebrow at the woman, daring her even in his drunken haze to attempt and take the child again. "I don't believe he's yours," He regained his posture, the rum evidently not taking as large a toll as first assumed. "And I wouldn't be trying to take him again, savvy?"   
  
Will retracted from the pirate's side as he realized the women were leaving, and the first major threat was now absent. He glanced up at the kohl-streaked pirate's eyes and his fingers tightened on the male's shirt. The pirate slowly bent to the floor and set Will on his feet. "Now who do you belong to, lad?" The pirate asked him. Will's eyes were still locked on, fear evident on them. "You've got naught to worry of, old Jack Sparrow'll take care of yeh."   
  
Will swallowed hard once before mustering up the courage to talk. "I want my daddy," He told Jack who was currently eye level with him. "Take me home."   
  
"All right, all right," Jack lifted the boy back into his arms. "Got a name?"  
  
Will nodded, a small smile gracing his already beautiful features. "William Turner." He gave a startled cry as he was almost dropped, and clutched Jack closer. "Don't drop me, Jack!" Will clenched his eyes shut and tucked his head into Jack's neck, not bothered by the strong smell of rum.   
  
"Your father is BootStrap? BootStrap Bill?" Jack's arms tightened on the boy when he received a small nod. "He be docked here?" Again there was a nod and Jack reversed directions. "Alright then, I'll take you to him."  
  
Jack made a quick time with his legs compared to Will's, and arrived them at the docks mere minutes later. "That one!" Will pointed a finger at a fine pirate ship at the end of the conjoined docks, pirate flag high and proud at the top of the beauty. But Will need not have told Jack, for the young pirate captain was well aware of which ship BootStrap Bill was the captain of.  
  
"Will!" Jack had barely managed a look at the man lunging for the male in his arms. Jack quickly side stepped him and pulled the squirming boy back. He swiftly extended his leg tripping the man to the floor and out of their area. "Who're you?" The man questioned, picking himself off the floor. "And how'd you get Will?"  
  
Jack narrowed his eyes and shushed Will who surprisingly stopped moving. "He found his way to the town 'cause blockheads like you can't keep a little-bitty eye out. There be only one man I'll turn young Will over to." Jack stepped past him and toward the ship Will belonged to.  
  
Jack was barely in front view of the ship when a pistol pressed into his back halted him. "Drop the boy," Came a gruff voice behind him. Jack was hesitant to let Will out of his grasp but did not want to injure him in the upcoming fight. Will dropped evenly down to the dock and stepped carefully away from Jack.  
  
"Come here, Will!" The man commanded and Jack shook his head.  
  
"I can't let you take the boy," Jack's right hand inched towards his pistol while slowly turning his head. "He'll not be leaving me soon." He felt the pistol move from the middle of his back to his shoulder of the hand reaching for his gun. Immediately he dropped the hand and turned his head forward again.   
  
"Daddy!" Jack's jaw threatened to drop as Will rushed around his legs and towards the voice.   
  
"Turn real slow," The voice ordered. Jack did a quick turn about, hair beads clicking against each other with the abrupt turn. Will had been accepted into BootStrap Bill's arms, pistol now pointed at his head. "Give me a good reason, as to why I'm not to blow yer head of right now."  
  
Jack held up a finger, apparently taking the threat very seriously. He grinned at the taller man, gold and silver flashing in his face. "Uh, might I suggest you ask young Will? I saved him from a whore or two. Wanted to make him their own."  
  
William Turner pulled his son closer in his arms, still careful to keep his pistol trained on Jack's head. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Is he telling the truth?"  
  
Will smiled, nodding quickly and smiling at Jack. "Jack's my friend. I got lost, sorry." BootStrap hesitated for only a second before setting Will down by his side and pulling his pistol back.   
  
"So who might you be?" He questioned, still careful to keep his son at his side. "And what are your intentions?"  
  
Jack wiggled his eyebrows and lifted his hat from his head. "William Turner, do I have a proposition for you." BootStrap was little impressed at Jack's words and motioned a crewman over.   
  
"Take Will below decks and do not lose him, or you will lose your head," He threatened. The gruff looking man swallowed nervously and took Will's hand and led the boy away. Will frowned as he allowed the man that worked for his father take him away.   
  
When Will was placed onto the ship he immediately slipped away from the man attending to him. He scurried to the top part of the upper deck and past the main mast. If he squinted hard he could just make out the shape of his father listening to Jack talk.   
  
"Will!" Will turned sharply at the voice, recognizing it almost immediately. "What did I tell yeh about eavesdropping?" The cook asked the minute boy. The fat cook reached out to grab Will's upper arm and pull him away from the deck. Will's eyes did manage to catch his father and Jack walking toward the ship. He was led down the familiar stairs and lifted when he reached the bottom steps of the lowest deck. "Don't be so noticeable," the pirate turned cook warned him. "And help me get the bloody supplies we have down on paper."  
  
It only took the cook turning his back on Will for the boy to use his talents and scurry up the steps silently. He was aided in his walk by the sturdy walls of the hallway and found himself at his father's cabin.  
  
"You're mad," Will jerked to a stop when he heard his father's voice loud and clear, and very much angry. "Why would I give up my ship and abandon my crew to become a crew hand? And to a man half my age with half my experience." Will seated himself outside his father's door, close enough so he might hear his father and Jack, but far enough so he would not be hit if the door opened unexpectedly.   
  
"Because I need a man like you, and I've something I've wanted for a long time." Will registered the voice as belonging to Jack, the man that had helped him find his father. "I've got the Pearl."  
  
"You're asking me to give up everything, and Will." Will's head jerked up and he scooted closer to the door.   
  
"For the Pearl," Jack pressed.  
  
Will could hear his father's heavy pacing, not quiet understanding what was happening. "For how long?" His father seemed upset, and his father was almost never sad or troubled.  
  
"A few years mate, just long enough to acquire a bit of treasure. Then you'll be off to your little family and young Will." There was a long pause as Will strained his ear closer to the door. "Why don't you drop him off with the misses and tell her you'll be back?" Jack suggested.  
  
"My wife thinks I'm a merchant." Will involuntarily covered his mouth. It was their secret, his and his father's. His mother was never to know what his father was, what he was destined to be later on in life. It was the one secret his father had asked of him, and even at his age he knew the importance of keeping a secret. As a pirate's word of course. And if you couldn't trust a pirate's word, what could you trust?  
  
"Think about it, a few year with the Pearl, and your family could be taken care of for life. I need a man with your talent, and you need the Pearl." Will's father was silent and caused the young boy to frown in confusion.  
  
"I'll need time to get my crew on another ship, and I'll need to return Will to his mother." Will shook his head; he didn't want to go back to his mother. Yes, he did love his mother, but he wanted to be a pirate with his father. He wanted to travel the seas and loot ships and taunt the royal fleet. He needed to stay with his father, on the ship, and on the waters.  
  
"I'll be back to Tortuga in exactly a month, and I'll be waiting for yeh." Will hastily climbed to his feet, catching himself against the wall as the ship lurched forward. The door to his father's cabin opened and Will froze in spot.  
  
Jack closed the door behind him and staggered over to Will. "You're to stay out of trouble now, lad," Jack told him, ruffling his soft hair. "I'll be seeing you."  
  
Will watched the man walk away, hands clasped together in front of him. "Bye, Mr. Jack," Will said quietly. The boy leaned against the wall.  
  
"Will," BootStrap bent down to lift his son off his feet. "You know the rules, you're not to wander off again," He scolded Will. "We're going to be visiting your mother soon, you must be missing her."  
  
Will tucked his head under his father's chin and clutched the elder's vest material. "I wanna stay with you," He told BootStrap. "Here."   
  
"You can't stay, Will." He made his way up to the top deck holding Will close. "But I'll come back, I swear I will. I give you my word as a pirate."  



End file.
